3 Keys to Conquering Guilt

             In the past, guilt has been a big struggle for me. I carried the burden of my sin around, thinking it made me humbler to be constantly reminded of my failures. I thought it made me godlier.

             That was a lie.

             Sister, I can tell you from what I’ve experienced in my life and seen in others. I beg you, do not try to bear the weight of you sin. Because you will stumble under it. It will crush you. Christ died for us so that we won’t HAVE to bear this overwhelming burden.

             I’ve experienced an incredible freedom from my guilt and it helped me realize three keys to conquering guilt that I hope you will find useful.

1. Look Upward

When you’re feeling the weight of your sin, you are thinking, “Me. My sin. My struggles. I’m bad.”

I’m not saying that coming to the point when you realize that YOU ARE A WRETCHED SINNER is bad, because we all need to come to that knowledge before we can even be saved. But once you have been saved and repented of your sins, it’s time to move on. You are righteous and holy before God because His Son claimed your sins as His own and bore the penalty.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Romans 8:1-6

Fix your eyes upon Christ, upon the cross, upon His sacrifice. When you’re struggling with guilt, sing songs in your head, or recite verses to yourself. Turn your eyes from you, the sinner, to the One who makes you clean. And KNOW that you are clean. You are free.

One thing that has helped me tremendously is to understand that Jesus did not just take my guilt, He took my shame. I no longer must be ashamed of my sin. Christ took that shame. You don’t have to bear it.

2. Fight Your Sin

I discovered that the guilt doesn’t go away if you’re still tempted to commit the same sin. The more you fall, and the more you’re tempted, the more you will hate yourself for succumbing in the past. The more it will weigh on you because you don’t feel free. This sin is still an encumbrance.

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

Colossians 3:5

I know it’s hard to just label a point, “Fight That Sin,” since you could have hundreds of blog posts and books written on that alone, but that’s not what this blog post is about. But it’s true—you’re not going to feel free from your sin until you’ve begun conquering it.

However, understanding that God has taken your guilt and taken your shame will help fight the sin in your life.

Get accountability. Get plugged into a local church. Find an older woman to mentor you and help you through your struggles. Don’t try to do everything alone. And definitely don’t wait to come to Christ for help until you feel worthy. Read this post, Come as You Are, about that.

3. Taste Something Better

Once you get a taste that the Lord’s ways are better, it becomes so much easier not only to beat guilt, but to beat temptation. God knew what He was doing by establishing right and wrong. Right is good, and wrong is bad. For some people, it may take some experimentation to find out that, “Oh, yeah, God IS right about this.” But it’s so much better if you just believe that it is.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

Psalm 34:8

It makes all the difference when you not only KNOW that something is better, but you UNDERSTAND that it is. Experiencing the beauty of God’s design makes anything else seem worthless. It makes it look like trash. Why would choose to wear filthy, ratty, old clothes to something like prom when you could be wearing a lovely, glittering gown? Why believe the lies of the devil when you can believe the truth of God?

Wrapping up…

God didn’t create you and free you from your sin so that you can still live in bondage. Our heavenly Father desperately desires for you to feel the freedom from your sin. Don’t let it bog you down. Surrender your sin and your guilt to Him.

If you cannot seem to get over your guilt, I recommend finding an older, godly mentor to help you talk through your sin and process your forgiveness. Sometimes you just need someone with a different perspective and more wisdom.

Jesus loved you enough to take your sins from you. Don’t cling to them—it’s an ugly weight to bear.

Have you struggled with guilt? What things have helped you overcome it? Any thoughts or stories? Share in the comments! 

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When You Don't Feel Guilty About Your Sins--Guest Post

This post was first published by Laura Rose at God Never Fades.

One day awhile back ago I did something that fills me with shame. I tarnished the trust between me and one of my teachers, and the worst part is that she didn’t even know that I had done so. She continued to trust me even though I knew that I did not deserve it. Right now the thought of it fills me with shame and remorse, but at the time, I didn’t care. I actually condoned what I had done.

I had sinned and I knew it. I didn’t care though. I couldn’t care less. This shocked me. Never before in my life had I ever felt this way. Whenever I did anything ‘bad’ I immediately felt guilty. I made myself sick to my stomach thinking about it until I asked for forgiveness or somehow fixed the situation. This time though, was different.

I didn’t feel any of that, during or in the following days. It was as if nothing happened because I didn’t feel that I had done anything wrong, even though I knew that I had.

The truth is that our feelings are deceiving sometimes. Just because you don’t feel something, doesn’t mean that those feelings are the truth. 

You feeling one way does NOT mean that you SHOULD be feeling that way. 

Feelings do NOT equal truth.

Sinning is not always going to feel bad. In fact, sinning can actually be enjoyable. Just read James 1:14-15.

“But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

James 1:14-15

 

Sinning comes from our own desires, so it’s not always going to seem bad. You trust yourself to make good decisions. Maybe you won’t think that you did something wrong due to this trust. However, God knows what you did. And God wasn’t pleased. God is very serious about our sins. They don’t seem okay to Him, and you can’t just brush them away.

Whatever you desire is directly correlated to your actions.

In my case, I desired a good grade. This desire directly correlated to my actions.

I wasn’t desiring to be a good Christian at the time and I wasn’t desiring to follow God and His principals, so my actions showed that. Your heart holds your desires, and those desires can’t stay hidden forever.

“But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.’"

Ephesians 5:13-14

You can’t hide the condition of your heart forever. So, turn yourself over; turn your desires over to God. Get rid of your desires that don’t point towards Him. They lead to sin, temptation, idolatry. Nothing good can come from a heart that desires something other than God. Throw off your old, sinful nature and point your heart to Jesus. Let the Spirit renew your heart. Clothe yourself in this new nature. Be pure. 

Obey His Word. Don’t let your heart wander wherever it pleases.

“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

Ephesians 4:17-24

“How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Your word.

With all my heart I have sought You;

Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

Your word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against You.

Blessed are You, O Lord;

Teach me Your statutes.

With my lips I have told of

All the ordinances of Your mouth.

I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts

And regard Your ways.

I shall delight in Your statutes;

I shall not forget Your word.”

Psalm 119:9-16

Laura Rose is a child of God and a blogger who is on a mission to share that God NEVER Fades. She loves gardening, reading, spending time with her family, and spending time with God. To learn more about Laura and her journey with Christ, visit her at godneverfades.wordpress.com!

Sorry, the comment section is still disabled. Thank you for your patience! But feel free to check out this post on her website and comment there!

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